WASTEWATER PLANS APPROVED

As part of ongoing efforts to address serious deficiencies in the City’s infrastructure, the City recently updated the Wastewater Collection System Master Plan and prepared a Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan. The City’s collection system and treatment plant are both outdated and don’t have sufficient capacity for the future, and the treatment plant does not meet current State standards. The Regional Water Quality Control Board will not approve expansion of the current plant without significant upgrades and has indicated it will pursue enforcement if plans to address the deficiencies do not proceed. Upgrade of the treatment plan represents probably the most expensive project in the City’s history so the City is working hard to develop the most cost effective approach to confront these issues.

In order to share costs and increase revenues, the City is working in partnership with California Water Service to study the feasibility of constructing a tertiary treatment plant that could produce and sell recycled water, which could expand the City’s water supply to better prepare for future droughts. The City is also working on strategies to fund a significant portion of the project costs from a number of grants.

The projected costs to the City for Phase I include approximately $32 million for construction and an annual increase of $350,000 for maintenance. In addition, the Master Plan recommends replacing deficient pipes on an ongoing annual basis, which will result in an estimated $240,000 annually. The next steps will be to prepare a recycled water study and a wastewater rate study. The goal will be to develop a revenue plan that can be implemented over a 5-year period, which is the projected timeframe for the wastewater treatment plant project.

Please feel free to contact City Hall at 385-3281 if you have questions.